Sullivan County made news across the state this week when legislators voted to make us the first county in New York to offer free tuition to local students who enroll at SUNY Sullivan to help more attain their associate’s degrees.

As the Democrat reported on Tuesday, the Sullivan Promise Tuition-free Scholarship program, providing SUNY Sullivan with up to $300,000 annually will begin in the 2022-23 academic year. Half of that money next year comes from American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The Sullivan Promise Scholarship will cover the full tuition and fees of every County resident who graduates high school in 2022, and is admitted to SUNY Sullivan beginning in the fall of ‘22, including GED students and homeschoolers, for one year of full-time study in a degree program.

Similar to New York State’s Excelsior program, the Sullivan Promise Scholarship expands eligibility.

According to the resolution passed by the county, students who complete an associate’s degree on average earn one-third more money over their lifetime than individuals with only a High School Diploma. The cost of tuition is often a barrier that prevents students from enrolling in college. Prolonged debt can prevent many from buying a home or starting a business.

This latest initiative offers even those who earn a skilled trade certification the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree that can further enhance their earning potential.

The thought behind such a move is to keep more of our kids here in Sullivan County. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, as the Democrat reported earlier this week, the county currently has to pay half the tuition of every resident who attends a community college outside of Sullivan. So minimizing the amount of money our County pays in chargebacks is another plus.

While providing opportunities to achieve higher education and minimize debt is a good incentive, it’s going to take more than that.

Building the kind of place where more young people can see a future themselves means attracting the kind of jobs that pay enough money to raise a family. It means expanding an affordable housing market where the dream of homeownership is not out of reach for the average person.

It includes combating the opioid crisis that far too many of our young people fall victim to. It involves fighting the cynicism that causes too many young people to think of their hometown as a place to escape from rather than to live and work in. Keeping more of our money and students in Sullivan County is a goal worth pursuing.